Tension in the cash-strapped US aviation industry has tipped over into open warfare at United Airlines where pilots are campaigning for the departure of the chief executive on the grounds of mismanagement, inefficiency and boardroom extravagance.

The US Airline Pilots Association has accused Glenn Tilton, a former Texaco oil executive who has run United for six years, of presiding over dismal punctuality, unrealistic schedules, a plunging share price, inadequate capital investment and rock-bottom morale.

A union-funded website [glenntilton.com] depicting a picture of Tilton in a tuxedo, calls for his immediate resignation and appeals to customers for support. The pilots are particularly irritated that United's board chooses to stay at the Ritz-Carlton hotel before meetings at a time of belt-tightening for workers.

"We don't take this action lightly. We love this airline and we need it to succeed," said first officer Jerry Lieber, a spokesman for United's pilots. "The three major constituencies - customers, employees and stakeholders, have all suffered due to his leadership."

Chicago-based United, is the second biggest US carrier after American Airlines. It operates 3,200 daily flights including transatlantic services to London and Manchester but has struggled with reliability. Pilots say a lack of investment is hampering operations.

United recently cancelled a $200m investment programme but paid $250m in dividends. Savings on parts have made repairs slower, according to the union, and a recent survey showed only 38% of employees were proud of the airline.

United argues that the mutiny is merely a ploy by pilots in the run-up to the renegotiation of pay contracts. In a recent lawsuit, United accused the pilots' union of organising a mass "sick-out" to gain leverage. "This is an obvious and predictable attempt to deflect attention from ALPA's illegal activity cited in our lawsuit, which details the organised and concerted effort to harm our customers, our employees and our performance," said a United spokeswoman.

Bijan Vasigh, at the Florida-based Airline Consulting Group, said: "Everyone is concerned that if airlines are not making money, we could be moving to another round of job losses and budget cuts."